Want to be a Better Leader? Become an Entrepreneur

That’s right, if you want to be a great leader, you need to be an entrepreneur. Now I don’t mean that you need to quit your job tomorrow and start a business in your basement in order to find the holy grail of leadership. What I do mean, is you can step up your game as a leader by emulating some of the qualities successful entrepreneurs possess. There are tons of lists out there that have different qualities in different orders, but in my experience, the top three are passion, open-mindedness, and confidence.

You gotta have passion for what you do . . .period. Passion will drive you to bring your best every single day. It will keep you moving toward your goals even when you experience the setbacks and failures that inevitably happen in business. Passion also energizes. It energizes you, your team and even your customers. “But,” you may say, “What happens if I just can’t seem to find the passion anymore?” The answer is simple, do something else. If you can’t manage to muster even a spark of passion for what you do, you are not doing yourself, or your team, any favors. Lack of passion leads to mediocrity and that can kill a business or a career. (Don’t believe me? Check out my recent blog article on this very topic by clicking here.)

Open-mindedness is also a quality found among the top entrepreneurs. Nobody holds the patent on genius. That means you can learn from everything you do and everyone you meet. It also means you need to check your ego at the door. In order to be open, you need to admit you don’t have all of the answers. Take the time to actively listen when people give you advice. Find someone that can be a good devil’s advocate for your ideas and be open to what they have to say. Challenges to your ideas aren’t a bad thing. Rather, it makes your ideas stronger because you are seeing them from a different point of view. Cultivate a culture that allows for respectful dissent and an exchange of different ideas, even AND ESPECIALLY if they are not yours.

It takes a lot to start your own business. You have to say sinara to the safety net of a regular paycheck and head off into the unknown. Over and over again you need to prove yourself and your company to potential investors and clients. It takes guts and it takes confidence. As leader you also need to project confidence to your team. This allows your team to flourish because it assures them that they don’t have to worry; no matter what happens, they know you are there to guide the way.

Want to learn more about the entrepreneurial spirit? Empowered Leadership Cultivation can help you become the leader and the growth company you want to be. Check out our Masterminds group, it is a great opportunity for leaders to come together and help each other grow.